Columbia Fireflies Additional Roster Updates and Game Notes at Augusta 7.28
Published on July 28, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Kansas City Royals have made the following additional roster moves affecting Columbia's active roster:
C Hyungchan Um has been promoted to the Quad Cities River Bandits active roster
C Ricson Gonzalez has been added to the Columbia Fireflies active roster
Gonzalez will wear jersey #12.
The Fireflies active roster now sits at 29.
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The Fireflies kick-off a fresh series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at SRP Park at 6:35 pm. RHP Ryan McDonagh (2-2, 2.96 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Augusta counters with RHP Davis Polo (4-5, 3.84 ERA).
The Fireflies return home for a series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Tuesday, August 4 until Sunday, August 9. Head to Segra Park for Bluey at the Ballpark presented by Cassell Brothers Home Services with a live appearance from Bluey and Bingo Saturday, August 8 and Darlington NASCAR Night featuring $1.50 Budweisers and $1.50 hot dogs during the game. Buy tickets starting at just $6 at FirefliesTickets.com.
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LOMBARDI STRIKES OUT 100TH BATTER OF THE SEASON IN LOSS: Michael Lombardi notched his 100th strikeout of the season as the Fireflies lost the series finale against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4-3 in 10 innings at Segra Park. The Fireflies were able to win five of six games in the series and picked up a game on first-place Hickory in the standings over the course of the week. In the top of the 10th, Nick McLain and Steven Lancia hit back-to-back singles to plate the placed runner, Matthew Boughton to give Kannapolis a 4-3 lead. Then when Columbia came to the dish, Josh Hammond bounced into a fielder's choice to erase lead-runner Henry Ramos before Yandel Ricardo grounded into an inning-ending double play. Carlton Perkins (W, 2-0) earned the victory with 1.2 scoreless innings in relief. Then Randy Ramnarace (L, 0-4) was on the hook for the loss after giving up the single, unearned run in the 10th.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the top ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 23-19 record combined with a 3.35 ERA over 426.2 innings through the first 96 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 421 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .236 AVG on the season. The Frederick Keys have the second-best mark in MiLB with a 3.73 through 388 innings pitched this season. Overall, the Fireflies hold the third-best team ERA in Minor League Baseball at 4.01. The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers lead the way with a 3.75 mark.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Sunday, he etched two strikeouts over four innings of work. Lombardi leads the Carolina League in strikeouts with 101 strikeouts. That's the seventh-most strikeouts for a Fireflies pitcher in a single season in franchise history. Tony Dibrell owns the Fireflies single-season strikeout record at 147. The last Fireflies player to notch 100 strikeouts in a season was Felix Arronde, who struck out 103 in 2024.
THE GAMBLER: After a slow start to the season, Sean Gamble has turned the page and become one of the top hitters in the Fireflies lineup. Since May 21, Gamble is hitting .278 across 50 games. He is second on the team in OBP (.402) and OPS (.817) and leads the club in runs scored (37) and stolen bases (20) during the stretch.
WELL NEEDED REST: The Fireflies have been surging since the All-Star Break. The club has won seven of nine games since the break. Both of the club's two losses have come in series finales after starting the game with a lead. With the run, the Fireflies are now just one game out of second place, behind Augusta and Charleston, and 5.5 games out of first place. The Fireflies have 12 games against the GreenJackets and six games against the RiverDogs before the end of the season. The club does not play first place Hickory again prior to the end of the season.
THE TIMES THEY ARE A'CHANGING: The Kansas City Royals made a variety of moves affecting the Fireflies roster before the start of Columbia's series opener with the Augusta GreenJackets Tuesday. First, the club promoted catcher Hyungchan Um and LHP Dash Albus to Quad Cities. Kansas City also released pitchers Hunter Alberini, Henson Leal and Luis Valdez. Then the team added pitchers Michael Braswell, Adrian Belen, Moises Amezquita, Manuel Colon and Jesus Oliveira as well as catcher Ricson Gonzalez.
BACK TO .500: The Fireflies are 112-113 in their first 225 games against the GreenJackets in franchise history.
Carolina League Stories from July 28, 2026
- Bullpen Crumbles in Fayetteville Series Opener - Hill City Howlers
- Four-Run Seventh Inning Sinks Pelicans, Fall to RiverDogs 6-2 in Series Opener - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Woodpeckers Bash Four Homers in Win over Hill City - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Fritton Dominates in RiverDogs 6-2 Win over Pelicans - Charleston RiverDogs
- Polo, Essenburg Post Career Days as Augusta Downs Columbia - Augusta GreenJackets
- Warbirds Soar to Series-Opening Victory - Wilson Warbirds
- FredNats Get Just Three Hits in 6-1 Series Opener Loss to Wilson - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Tuesday's July 28 Game against Crawdads Postponed Due to Weather - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Columbia Fireflies Additional Roster Updates and Game Notes at Augusta 7.28 - Columbia Fireflies
- Upgrade Your Experience at Fireflies Top August Games - Columbia Fireflies
- 'Dads Return August 4th-9th - Hickory Crawdads
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